The Totally Normal Life of the Olympians
by RevelMoxut
Summary: Percy Jackson is having trouble adjusting to mortal life. Unemployed, alone, and at the end of of his rope, he soon finds his example to break away from the camp has made an impression on his friends. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood are moving on, and doing there best to stick together. With friends old and new, Percy's confidence grows along with his romantic life. (Reviews Loved)
1. Chapter 1: Percy Can't Grow Up

**The following scene describing Percy owning technology made safe for him to use by Leo is inspired by a comic "Pranking Jason" by tamaytka on tumblr.**

**This story follows several variations to the events in both "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" and "The Heroes of Olympus" by Rick Riordan. Which most prominently include:**

**Luke surviving the events of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" and redeeming himself at Camp Half-Blood**

**Both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter remaining unaware of each other**

**Gaea either remaining in rest or having yet to awaken in the current story**

It had been a long and arduous day for Percy Jackson, a thought that had hit him many times throughout it. But finally, he had made it back home to rest before the next, which he was certain would be as difficult, if not more, as today had been.

If you had asked Percy a couple months ago if he would dislike every day, normal, mortal life he would have laughed in your face and went on and on about how he couldn't wait for the summer to end and to finally start life on his own. The change, however, had been much more taxing on him than he had ever considered.

For one, he still had yet to land a steady job that he could pay rent with. Though he had managed to pick up some temporary construction work for a few days now it would be over in a month tops, supposing he didn't knock something important over before then. Since settling in in August he had taken a few odd jobs to make ends meet – along with a few loans from his father, Poseidon, and mother, Sally. He felt guilty asking for money from both of them – the money from his father was more a surprise gift but still made Percy feel like a bum – but he felt especially cruel borrowing money from his poor mother, who was still trying to find a publisher for her first novel. The fact he had not finished reading the special manuscript she had sent him of her book made him feel worse. Though he couldn't help beating himself up for it forever as he had always had trouble reading, even with the manuscript printed specifically for his dyslexia. His mother had told him she would only accept a publisher willing to print a version just like that for kids like Percy who had dyslexia, which brought a smile to Percy's face whenever he had thought about it.

But that smile would soon fade away when Percy began to think about applying to school. He had barely managed to pass senior year and knew he wasn't ready for college. But he had wanted to so badly, even with no idea where an education would take him. A Bachelor's degree seemed like an amazing accomplishment to him, one which he wanted desperately to have for himself. Knowing he'd have to go back to sitting through lectures for hours on end and barely collect any printed information given to him discouraged him though and almost brought him to tears just thinking about it. He didn't know how he would do it all on his own.

The only thing he did know was that he didn't want to go back to being a hero anymore. At least not for a few years. As hard as mortal life had proven to be – and he was sure he wouldn't complete abandon his summers at Camp Half-Blood – he'd take it over saving the world again any day. If he didn't find a job soon though, he might have to spend some time living at camp until he could get back on his feet. He groaned, sure he'd be welcomed back but positive he'd just end up setting himself back on the progress he'd already made by another quest. He never seemed to get a summer without one. Though at least none had been nearly as dangerous as his trips to the Sea of Monsters or the Labyrinth.

Percy made the pilgrimage through his empty living room to his bedroom and plopped himself on to one of the three pieces of furniture he owned: his bed. It wasn't much and was uncomfortable enough that he missed his bunk back at camp, but he took pride in having finish putting it together a few weeks ago. He rather enjoyed his little bedroom and how it was set up. He had managed to find a nightstand to match the bed along with a nice, blue lamp. He had even invested in a desk. It was a little too close to the foot of the bed, but he could still pull out a chair and sit at it with his laptop. Rarely had he found a use for it, except for the occasional freeware game, but he felt he needed to find some use for it. It had been a gift from Leo, who had promised him he could search the web, compose emails, and play games to his heart's content without attracting any monsters. Percy was naturally skeptical, as were his friends who received similar cellphones and other electronics but had grew to trust Leo's handiwork over time. Sure enough, Leo had proven to be a genius and no monsters had detected Percy when he was using his new gadget. Leo had also promised he'd send Percy a cellphone as well soon.

Percy laid on his bed for a few minutes, thinking about Leo and other friends who hadn't seen since the end of summer. Leo himself was a newcomer, a son of Hephaestus with some serious talent which rivalled that of any of his siblings. The two of them had managed to become friends after a trip to the forge gone wrong, but in the end the two came out closer and the little fiasco had given Leo some ideas for new gadgets and gizmos. The first of which he'd given to Percy, a small seashell charm on a leather cord which transformed into a fashioned breastplate when Percy tugged on it. Percy had thought of it as too much, but Leo insisted he have it. The guy was too nice.

Piper was another newcomer, and Percy was seriously surprised as to how well he two of them got along. She was a daughter of Aphrodite, but less focused on the mirror and more focused on trouble and shenanigans. The two would hang out often, mostly after pegasus riding lessons that Percy tried to teach her but after a few two many close calls they stuck to spending time together everywhere else in camp. Usually it'd be just him and her, but Leo was even better friends with Piper than Percy was and when all three were together there was sure to be some massive explosion by the end of the day. He missed both of them.

But someone which he had spent a criminal amount of time without was Grover, his best friend since middle school. Since he had become a cloven elder, Grover was far too busy for any sort of free time. He was busy exploring the world, looking for nature spirits to convince to protect their circles of the wild. He was seriously dedicated to his work, and Percy knew he was living his dream, but he missed seeing his buddy who he rarely saw at camp even during the summer.

As Percy twiddled with his seashell gift from Leo in his fingers, he noticed he wasn't wearing his camp necklace today. He shot up and anxiously looked around the room for it and was relieved to find it resting on the nightstand. He had forgotten it this morning.

The necklace was another leather cord but was older than Leo's little contraption. Seven decorated beads hung from it, representing each year Percy had spent at Camp Half-Blood. It had become something of a safety blanket to him when he was away, but he had miraculously found less need for it as he reached his adult life. Though he felt a twinge of guilt for having forgotten it this morning and put it on immediately while promising himself to wear it tomorrow.

As he twiddled with the old beads he had been collecting since his first summer, he couldn't help thinking about Annabeth. The two of them were the best of friends, since their first quest they'd grown quite close and every year after that they'd get a little closer for better or for worse. But this summer they'd been more distant than usual. Percy knew something was wrong but couldn't put his finger on what exactly it was. It became harder for the two of them to talk and their conversations had become much shorter. Percy found it easier for him to accidentally say something that'd upset Annabeth, and as a consequence Annabeth had found the same result. Generally, it seemed like Annabeth had been avoiding Percy whenever she could. But even then, there were a few moments the two had been the closest they'd ever been since meeting each other this summer.

Most vivid in Percy's head was a week before he would leave camp for the rest of the year, Percy had been walking down the beach near camp taking a moment to relax. Coincidentally, or maybe she planned it like Percy wondered, Annabeth had been there too. She had worn a white tank top and cut-off jean shorts, matching Percy's own outfit, the same shorts and a blue tank top. He had heard her call his name and turned to see her running down the beach to catch up with him.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain!" she said as she approached him, "Mind if I join you?"

Percy laughed, surprised at her sudden interest in him as it had been a few days since the two had even seen each other, "Sure thing, Wise Girl. Just don't slow me down."

The two walked and talked about their plans after summer would end, Annabeth was going back to Olympus to continue working on its reconstruction for a few months and Percy would be where his is right now, surviving in a world alien to him. Sure enough, Annabeth dug into the topic.

"Oh." She said, "Well I guess that makes sense. You did graduate after all right?" She joked towards the end, but Percy noticed she sounded a little put off by the information.

"Ha ha, very funny." He said. The two laughed a bit and grinned at one another but stopped talking afterward for a few minutes. The sand and the wake grew louder in Percy's ear, before he finally broke the silence, "There's nothing wrong with that, right?" He expected Annabeth would think that was a stupid question, but she only let out a small sigh and smiled, turning to him.

"There's nothing wrong with that at all, Percy." She tried giving him a warm smile, but Percy detected she wasn't wearing it sincerely. "I'm just going to miss you."

Then in a blur, she hugged him. It was completely out of nowhere, but Percy held her to himself instinctively. For a while they stood there on the beach, holding each other as the waves crashed on to the shore. It was only for a minute, maybe two, but Percy treasured every second of it. He thought about a few years before, when she had kissed him for the first time on the lips. They had had a few other moments like that since the end of the Titan War but they'd somehow always managed to prevent a serious relationship from forming. Sometimes he'd make a move and sometimes she would, but neither had made any ground. They had made something of a silent agreement: "We can't even start a relationship together when we both want to." Eventually, they stopped trying and their little moments of bliss became fewer and fewer

This summer had been devoid of those small, romantic moments – except for right now. Up until then Percy considered the chances of even staying friends with Annabeth slim, thinking their multiple attempts at dating had finally damaged it beyond repair. But this small hug gave him hope that he'd have a meaningful friendship again, and even considered the new mortal life might help him avoid slipping up further. In the back of his head he knew it sounded crazy, but maybe it would stop either of them from messing up further if they didn't see or communicate with each other as often. He'd be busier and farther away, and maybe he'd find someone he was more compatible with. But the thought brought him down too, and as he imagined being further from Annabeth than he was already, both emotionally and physically, he felt himself hold on tighter.

When they were done, they continued down the beach for a few hundred yards holding hands and talking about the summer at camp. They found a spot which seemed out of sight from the rest of camp and rested next to each other. Percy laid down on the sand and closed his eyes as Annabeth told him stories about a new cabinmate she'd lost under a pile of blueprints and notes in Cabin Six. She leaned back on to his shoulder as he started to tell her how Tyson managed to nearly kill a tree nymph when he confused her tree for Percy. Tyson swore it looked just like him, and the two laughed together as they told more stories.

Eventually they ran out of stories as the day wore on, and by sunset they were only enjoying the sound of the surf together. Percy was first to doze off, and Annabeth woke him up quick but soon felt her eyes heavy too. They'd nearly both fallen asleep when they heard the conch horn in the distance and woke with a start. They both got up ad scurried towards the mess hall, but on the way Annabeth had rushed off ahead of Percy to make sure she caught up with her half-siblings. Percy was left alone for the remainder of his walk, only a few minutes to the mess hall, but he felt his sudden isolation disturb him. At dinner, he'd glance towards Annabeth and caught her gaze a few times. But neither did more than lock eyes.

"So close," Percy thought, "Yet so far away." He sighed, and suddenly a shadow grew over him.


	2. Chapter 2: Nico Pops In

Percy screamed and rolled off his bed, instinctively reaching for Riptide and uncapping the sword as he landed on the floor. He recomposed himself and pointed the bronze blade at the figure that had appeared on the other side of his bed. Leaning against the wall in a deep black hoodie, distressed jeans and heavy, steel-toed boots stood the palest seventeen-year-old Percy had ever seen, with long, black hair covering his face and eyes so sunken you could mistake him for a skeleton.

"Nico!" Percy said, enraged at him but relieved it was only the son of Hades and not another monster, "What are you doing in my room?"

The olive-skinned demigod pulled one hand from the pocket on his hoodie, extended his pinkie, and jammed it in his ear, "You scream…" he said, "Really loud." He hadn't at all expressed anything but discomfort as he tried to goat the ringing away with his finger. Percy recapped Riptide and fell on to his bed, taking a deep sigh as he stared at the ceiling.

"Well?" He said, turning his head back on Nico "What is it?"

Nico shuffled against the wall and made it hard for Percy to look him in the eyes, "Do you mind if I spend the night? I heard you got your own place and I need somewhere to stay for a little bit."

"Oh." Percy was a bit surprised, "Uh, yeah man, I guess. I only have the one bed though."

"That's fine. I'll just sleep on the floor, much better than the street."

It had been a while since the two had seen each other. Nico had always been more of a loner, and after the end of the Titan War, he hardly made any visits to camp. The Hades cabin lay dormant waiting for him, but even when he did come to camp – usually to talk or relay information – he never so much as stepped foot into it. Percy had seen him a couple times, he visited on his 18th birthday and the two went for a midnight bowling game that ended with a tournament against four skeletons Nico had attracted who were surprisingly good at getting strikes. Unlike most other campers, he thought of Nico as a pretty close friend and pleasant company, but even he couldn't deny Nico was unnerving at times, which is probably why he stayed away from camp most of the time.

Percy was surprised that Nico would ask for help though, if anything he suspected if he needed a place to crash he'd go down the Underworld. Nico had told him before that his dad usually let him stay in his palace. Maybe the place was full, he thought.

"Are you ok Nico? This isn't like you. Popping out of nowhere from the shadows, yes. Asking for help, no." Percy sat up on his bed to get a better look at Nico. He usually looked like hell, but his hoodie was tearing at the seams in some places and it looked like he had rolled around in a pile of dirt. His hair wasn't just messy but coated in a thin layer of dirt as well. He looked malnourished, more than he usually did.

"Do you need something to eat? There's some cold pizza in the fridg-" Before he could finish, Nico quickly said "thanks," made a ninety degree turn towards the door and rushed towards the kitchen. Percy stared at the doorway as he heard Nico fix himself a plate with a leftover slice. Hopefully more than one, Percy hoped.

While Nico made himself at home, Percy realized he still had to. He took off his work boots and orange vest. He smelled like cement, and his t-shirt was caked with some on the front. He thought it was probably best to shower, but he'd probably let Nico go first. It seemed he'd need it more.

In the meantime, Percy pulled his blue tee over his head and threw it into his ginormous pile of dirty laundry. He crawled over to his much smaller pile of clean clothes and searched for another shirt. At the top of the pile lay one of his camp t-shirts. He thought about wearing it, at least for the night, but decided against it. He'd save it for another day. Instead he chose a shirt he'd gotten on a quest in Denver from a gift shop he spent the night in. It was one of those shirts for tourists, the state flag was printed in the middle of the grey cloth and the words "Denver Life" in red, yellow, blue and white letters were underneath. It was tacky, but Percy liked this kind of stuff.

He figured there wasn't much else for him to do today, except get Nico settled in, so pulled on some plaid pajama bottoms as well. He searched through his dwindling supply of clothing for something for Nico, but nothing was really his size without being a few sizes too big. He'd email his mom in the morning asking if she had any of his old clothes in the morning, something closer to Nico's size hopefully.

Percy finished looking through the pile and turned back towards the bed. Resting on the pillow was a small, black box that had not been there before. A golden, serif "V" was stamped on to the top of it, and a neatly folded note was placed underneath.

"No way." Percy said, jumping on to his bed and catching the box as it leaped into the air from the force. Percy pulled the top part of the small box from the bottom, and inside was another small black box stamped with an "A."

"Leo…" Percy sighed, "Please no." But yes, there were more. Percy opened the new box, and inside was another box with a golden "L." Percy continued to remove one lid after another, each with a new golden letter, "…D…E…Z…"

"I'm going to strangle you the next time I see you, Leo Valdez." Percy swore, as the boxes became smaller and smaller and spelled out a message in increasingly smaller fonts.

He continued to open the boxes "…P…R…E…S…E…N…T…S…" Percy's bed began to collect with more and more separated lids. If this kept up, he'd have a pile larger than his clean clothes.

"…Y…O…U…R…" At the very least, Percy thought, it's easy to read. The separated letters and specific, bold font the letters were produced in challenged Percy's dyslexia to make him hate reading this. Unfortunately, he hated it for a different reason.

"…V…E…R…Y…O…W…N…"

"…D…E…M…I…G…O…D…M…A…D…E…"

"…S…T…A…T…E…O…F…T…H…E…A…R…T…"

"…O…N…E…A…N…D…O…N…L…Y…"

Nico walked into the room and froze as he saw what Percy was doing. The last slice of cold pizza half-eaten in his hand, his jaw dropped as he saw the floor fill with cardboard lids.

"…L…E…O…A…P…P…R…O…V…E…D…"

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU VALDEZ!" Percy shrieked as he started prying itty-bitty lids from one another with his fingernails. Somehow, they hadn't reached microscopic levels… yet. Nico, who Percy still had not noticed in the doorway, looked on stunned and horrified as Percy reached the end.

"…M…O…N…S…T…E…R…P…R…O…O…F…P…H…O…N…E…!"

Percy stared at the last box, the "!", hesitant to uncover it. His finger and thumb hovered over it, ready to unbox what was inside. He'd be mad if he discovered the tiniest cellphone in the world, which might explain why it wouldn't attract monsters. Could something that looked about the size of a pea really give off any tips to local monsters? A thought emerged, and Percy considered that there might be an even bigger prank underneath. Leo wasn't one to shy away from pulling stunts with seemingly innocent inventions. Once, he had rigged a perfume bottle to spray a magically enchanted odor to come out every third spray and given it to an Aphrodite camper. The trick was that I smelled like a designer perfume to the wearer, but to everyone else it smelled like curdled milk and fish heads. Knowing Leo, he might have cut out the middleman and put a stink bomb rigged to explode underneath the "!", and Percy and Nico would have to air out the apartment all night.

Against his best judgement, Percy looked away from the container and pulled out the last lid. He heard a small POP, and felt the lid disappear in his hands. When he opened his eyes, the lids had disappeared and from where they were streams of confetti filled the air and cascaded to the ground. An entire layer evenly coated his bed, floor, nightstand, desk, and piles of clothes. Except on his pillow, where a circle of confetti was absent. In the middle of the confetti hole, a smartphone with a sea-green case lay waiting for Percy to claim.

At first, Percy was shocked, then he began to get mad, but finally he was just relieved it was over and glad to finally have a phone. His first phone. He felt a tear escape him.

He finally noticed Nico, who was covered in the streamers and bits of colorful paper. Percy pointed towards his new phone and smiled, holding back a laugh and grinning like a madman, "It's… from Leo." He managed.

Nico spit out some confetti, "Who would have guessed."

After Percy had suggested to Nico to take the shower first and gotten the phone set up, he received a text from a number already in his phone under the name "The Almighty Leo." As irked as he was, Percy couldn't help smiling at his first text message.

"_Yo, I see you got your present."_ Read the text, written in Greek.

"_You're a dead man Valdez."_ Percy texted back.

"_What? The party poppers? They'll disappear by tomorrow don't worry about clean up."_

"_How did you manage to fit so many boxes into such a small space."_

"_I can't tell you, it's a trade secret."_

"_Whatever. Thanks for the phone dude! Even if you did trash my room giving it to me."_

"_No sweat, Aquaman. How else are we all going to stay in touch after you left us?"_

"_Ha ha, yeah sorry."_

Leo was only joking, Percy was sure, but he knew he really did miss him. Maybe this confetti stunt was a way of getting back at him for leaving. At least Leo made sure it'd clean itself up eventually.

"_I put everyone I've made a phone for so far in your contacts."_

"_Oh sweet. Seriously dude this is too much."_

"_Seriously dude, it's not a problem. Just make sure not to drop any of us ok?"_

"_Ok."_

Leo had really gone all out for the little gizmo. The casing was comfortable in the hand and on the back was a mountain symbol with an "O" resembling a sun rising behind it. When the phone was on, the "O" lit up. It ran smoothly and already had a lock that only opened when Percy was holding it. Some apps had been premade for the device, which had its own OS (Olympian Sellular, as the startup said – Percy hoped that was a joke) but still ran other applications and features from other big smartphones. The default background was a crisp looking photo of Leo taking a selfie in front of an aquarium in a fancy looking restaurant. Percy hoped it wasn't a seafood place. He'd have to figure out how to change the background later.

Percy ignored the games and other cool looking apps and opened up his contacts. At the top of the list was "The Almighty Leo." The rest of the names were alphabetized:

"Bright Boy" (Will Solace)

"Goat Boy" (Grover Underwood)

"Lightning McQueen" (Thalia Grace)

"Pipes" (Piper McLean)

"Skippy" (Tyson)

"There's a Snake in my Gút" (Rachel Elizabeth Dare)

"The Winged Warrior" (Luke Castellan)

"Wise Girl" (Annabeth Chase)

The last two names caught Percy off guard. He knew Annabeth would be there but was surprised Leo would include Luke. Since the Titan War ended, he'd made a full recovery after hosting Kronos in his body, thanks mostly to Will healing him over a few months. No one had thought he'd survive long enough to even seek aid after Kronos left him, but miraculously he was still with them to this day. Annabeth had stayed by his side for many days, and Percy would visit to check up on him every now and then.

There friendship was… complicated to say the least. Luke had made a serious effort to fit back in at camp. He was given a second chance by the Olympians for ensuring Kronos' destruction at the risk of his own life. Though when the council voted on whether he should live or die, it had been an incredibly close vote. When he first came back to camp, he had a less than Luke-warm welcome. Some campers, like Annabeth, were glad he was back. More were uncomfortable with their former enemy living among them now, and others downright hated his guts and made every effort to show it. Like Clarisse, who was mysteriously missing from Percy's contacts.

Percy couldn't decide how he should feel about Luke coming back. He felt it would have been easier had Luke not survived reaping Kronos, but he was still glad to have him than not he guessed. On one hand, he sympathized with Luke understanding his past more clearly now. On the other hand, he knew that was still no excuse for the war, the copious amounts of monsters, and the deaths of so many half-bloods. Percy never brought it up, but he wondered how often Luke thought about what he did, and whether or not he regretted it. He hardly ever smiled, sometimes he'd frown but his signature look now was a blank face staring off somewhere else.

Luke had been happy to see the changes made to camp, however. The new cabins and no more unclaimed kids stuffed into the Hermes cabin. Everything he had ever doubted about the gods blew up in his face, and he was proud to see it unfold. Though as much as he loved the gods paying more attention to their children, his own father had been forbidden from ever speaking to him ever again as a consequence for his actions. It was another topic Percy avoided bringing up, but when there were before the council of the gods and Luke was just starting to show signs of brightening up at the possibility of talking to his dad more, he saw him hold back tears as he was told his punishment. The former host to the Lord of the Titans, brought to tears because he couldn't talk to his dad anymore.

Percy and Luke hardly ever hung out alone together, but Annabeth, who had previously lost all hope for him days before he had self-excorcised Kronos, made it her mission to be at Luke's side as much as possible. For the first year, it was exactly like that. Annabeth and Luke were practically glued to each other. They were hard to spot together, usually they'd be in some hidden spot in the woods or alone in the arena hanging out.

Percy tried his hardest not to be jealous, but when he came back the next summer, he lost it whenever he saw them together. And he was alone with Annabeth, he'd make sure they avoided running into Luke. That usually failed, because the two practically had a built-in radar for one another. As time went on, Percy got more and more used to it and got a little closer to Luke. He was sure he trusted Luke, he'd seen a different side of him at the end of the war. He probably needed it too, the rest of camp was avoiding him or was out for blood when he was nearby, despite Chiron's objections. At the time he wasn't even allowed back in the Hermes' cabin, and spent most nights sleeping in the Big House. Percy heard rumors that sometimes, late at night, Annabeth would sneak out of Cabin Five to check up on him.

Percy tried his best too ignore the number for now but couldn't shake the thought of Leo making a phone just for Luke. He had said he'd only be making one for every one of his friends. Maybe Annabeth had convinced him to make one for him.

The close proximity of Annabeth and Luke in his contacts bothered Percy and he changed "Wise Girl" to just "Annabeth" so that she would appear at the top. He tried to forget about Luke and get back to enjoying his present. He tapped on Annabeth's contact and started composing a message.


	3. Chapter 3: A Deal is Made

_"Hey Wise Girl." _Percy sent the message and put his phone on the nightstand. He knew Annabeth was busy most of the time, and probably wouldn't message him back for a while. He'd hope she would soon though, he missed her too much. As much as he knew distance was helping him see her as more of a friend than a romantic partner, he missed her too. The thought of the two of them on the beach at the end of the summer crept in from the back of his mind, but he tried to bury it. He needed something to distract him.

He knew just what would. Percy brushed and shook confetti off the blankets and pillows on his bed, mostly with success, and took them into the empty living room. Since the mess would be there until sometime tomorrow, he figured he might as well join Nico on the floor and make it as comfortable as possible for the two of them. He set out the blankets on the floor and placed pillows wherever they looked comfortable to rest on.

After a few minutes, everything was set for the night. The makeshift bed was a little larger than a twin-sized bed – if a twin-sized bed were flat – enough room for both he and Nico. It wasn't much, but it was more comfortable than the street. Hopefully Nico wouldn't mind having to share for the night. Even though Nico had only asked to spend the night Percy didn't think it was too farfetched that he'd be spending a few more nights here. Percy didn't mind though, he felt better knowing Nico wouldn't be in danger anywhere else. He only tried to remember that he'd have to ask his mom for a sleeping bag or air mattress as well as some clothes for Nico. Hopefully she and Paul had one they'd be willing to donate.

As Percy was picking loose bits of tissue paper off of some of the blankets, he heard his phone buzz from his bedroom and rushed to see if it was from Annabeth. When he picked it up, he saw that instead it was from Piper. Percy was disappointed at the text for a second, but then at himself for only texting Annabeth in the first place. He'd have to check on everyone else too, but first Piper.

_"Heyyyyy Percyyyyy."_ Said Piper, _"How ya been?"_

As Percy was about to reply, his phone began to ring and the camera on the front of the phone turned on. Piper was calling Percy to chat over video. Percy answered and Piper appeared on his screen, sitting cross-legged on her bed in the Aphrodite cabin in her PJs. In front of her was a bowl of dry cereal she was munching on, and it sounded like one of her siblings was playing music in the background.

"Turn that off I'm talking to my friend!" she yelled, and the music got a little quieter. Piper squinted at someone offscreen with death in her eyes until the music was gone. She turned back to her phone, which was propped up against her bedframe, regarded Percy with a big smile.

"Hi Percy!" she beamed, still eating her cereal, "How's life?"

"It's alright," Percy lied, not wanting her to worry, "Still getting adjusted though." He made his way out of the confetti filled room and back to the living room, placing his phone against a pillow and setting himself down in front of it.

"That's good! Remember if it ever becomes too much though you can come back any time. I'm sure Chiron would understand. You could stay year-round with Leo and I!" She was being sincere, but as great as it sounded Percy wanted to keep his normal life for as long as he could. Even with how difficult it had been. Though it made him happy to hear Piper tell him there was a place for him. He was sure she was right too. Chiron had always had a soft spot for him.

"Thanks, Piper. I'll remember that if I'm in a bind. How've you been?"

"Eh, I've been better. Not much has been happening here at all except the same old same old: Wake up, train, eat, and go to bed. Since you've been gone there hasn't been anything fun to do all. Glad I got this new phone though, it's been helping."

"Yeah, I just got mine. I have no idea how Leo got it here though."

"Gods Leo, he had me running around the camp trying to find it. He gave me a box and said it was in there, but then it grew wings and started flying everywhere. Though the stables and mess hall. I felt bad cause when it went through the arena, I knocked a few archers over chasing it. I gave up after it started to get dark and the box rested in a bird's nest, thinking I'd have to sneak up on it in the morning to get my gift. When I got to my cabin, there was my phone resting on the pillow right here." She smacked the pillow behind her, "In the morning I almost choked Leo to death for having me go on a wild goose chase."

"He confetti bombed my room when he sent mine."

She snorted, "Sounds like he went easy on you. I wasn't mad at him for long though, it was really nice of him to make phones for all of us. It had been a really big project for him too. He worked a lot of long nights into the morning. Not to mention it took forever for him to convince Iris to help him start a call service."

Good ol' Leo, Percy thought, he may be a handful but he's too sweet for his own good.

"How is he? And everyone else?"

"He's doing ok, I haven't seen him today. He was probably working on sending you your phone and is resting after finishing it up. Zeus knows he needs it. Grover stopped by last week to say hi to Juniper but left pretty quick. Didn't even see him. Chiron's been busy trying to round up a group of new Hermes campers, triplets, who have been causing trouble. Oh, and Annabeth and I hung out today."

"Oh cool, how has she been doing?"

"She's doing ok, she doesn't get out much except to eat on most days – even then she usually takes her food to her cabin – but I managed to catch her before she could retreat away again. She rivals Leo in the forges with how long she spends on her laptop."

"Why was she outside before then?"

Piper's eyes trailed away from the screen to somewhere else. She tried not to meet Percy's eyes, not hard when he wasn't there but extremely obvious, "Talking with Luke." Piper's sibling in the background coughed nervously.

"Oh, that's… nice." It hadn't surprised Percy to hear, and he tried not to act bothered, but he wasn't doing too well at it. His face was contorted in half a frown, and he scratched the back of his head. He hoped Piper didn't notice.

Although Piper hadn't been around during the Titan War, she knew Luke was a controversial camper. He was quiet and kept to himself, but she'd heard stories about how popular of a camper he'd been before turning to the Titan Lord's army and plotting to destroy the gods. She didn't talk to him often, and most of what she knew about him came from other campers including Percy. Often, though he tried not to appear so, she could tell he didn't really like him. On the other hand, Luke meant a lot more to Annabeth. She'd go out of her way to hang out, defend, or include him with everyone else. And when she did, Percy went on his best behavior. He'd gotten better at it over the years, maybe someday he could actually tolerate Luke, or they could be friends by proxy. Whatever way that would work. It hadn't been too hard for Piper to be around Luke, especially for Annabeth, but she had considered that this was because she hadn't seen him at his worst.

Percy and Piper tried to avoid talking further about Annabeth and Luke. Percy fought not to pry into what they'd been doing, while Piper tried not to press further into a touchy subject. They started talking about mundane things, ignoring the topic entirely. Nothing interesting: what What Piper did today (archery and breaking up a fight between two of her siblings in the arena), Percy's dinner (he hadn't eaten yet but was planning on having pizza), the weather at camp (clear and comfortable as always), etc. The tone of their conversation had noticeably shifted, but the two still enjoyed talking to each other after so long.

Suddenly, Nico appeared behind Percy on Piper's phone, his hair was still damp from his shower, "I-is" he stuttered nervously, "Is that a cellphone?"

Piper perked up, "Is that Nico?" She hadn't hung out with Nico very much, but she really liked seeing him when he was around. When they first met, Nico had attracted the attention of a skeleton and it followed close behind him. When Piper saw the undead figure she nearly jumped out of her skin, but the skeleton was docile and only pestered Nico for treats. Piper had had a baggy of gummy bears from the camp store, vaguely designed to look like ancient Greek heroes, and Nico let her feed them. After that, they'd gotten really close and Nico's fashion sense rubbed off on her for a few weeks afterward. Piper went around camp wearing an aviator jacket and baggy jeans, black shirts with skulls and snakes, and combat boots. If the two were standing together, you'd think there'd have been a glitch in the Matrix.

Nico liked Piper too. She wasn't as close to him as Percy was – which wasn't by much, Nico was a naturally distant person – but he was flattered to see someone complimenting his choice of clothes, if a bit perplexed by the gesture. Though his face would flush red when the two were seen together dressed nearly the same.

Suffice to say, it made Piper happy to see Nico was around and with Percy. Plus, seeing him gave her an idea.

Percy turned around and looked at Nico, but still spoke to Piper, "Oh yeah, he's staying the night. Say hi to Piper, Nico."

"Um" he still looked uncomfortable and cautiously took a step back, "Hi, Piper. Good to see you."

Percy and Piper were confused with Nico's behavior, thinking he was upset seeing her for some reason, until they realized what was putting him off.

"Oh, Nico it's ok." Percy said, "Leo made these, monsters won't be able to find us when we use them." He picked up his new phone and shook it around as if to demonstrate it wasn't a monster-attractant maraca. Piper acted as if she was actually inside the phone and shook around comically but fell off her bed by accident in the process. Nico didn't look 100% convinced at the phone's safety though.

"Are you sure?" he asked, "I didn't really get a good look at it when you showed me earlier. I had no idea it was a phone, I just thought it was another one of Valdez's gadgets." He stared at it for a little longer, Piper got back on her bed. "Can you really-"

"It's completely safe, Nico." Piper said, "I've had mine for a week or so now and no monsters. I even stepped out of the camp barrier to make sure."

Nico still looked a bit skeptical, but conceded, "Ok. That's cool, I guess." He focused his attention on Percy, "You set this up for me, Percy?" He pointed at the blankets and pillows on the ground. Percy motioned, "one moment" to Piper and regarded Nico's question.

"Yeah man," he said, "I hope you don't mind if I join you tonight. Thought I'd sleep somewhere that wasn't buried under a foot of tissue paper."

Nico paused for a moment, then said "That's fine. It's your place anyway, thanks for letting me stay."

Percy smiled, but he remembered he was still in a call and went back to Piper, "Oh gods, sorry Pipes. I almost forgot about you."

"No, it's fine!" she said, looking excited, "Seeing Nico with you gave me an idea. Maybe we could come hang out at your place sometime."

Percy thought about it. Having his friends over seemed like it would cheer him up, but if they saw the conditions he was living in – the empty apartment – they might start to worry. Or try to help. But he missed them too much to say no, "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea! Are you sure Chiron and Mr. D will let you?"

Piper waved her hand in the air, "Oh please, I'm sure Chiron would be glad to let you have some company every now and then. And Mr. D would be happy to have less of us around. Leo and I could come over and we could all go somewhere together like normal teenagers!"

Going somewhere would be good, Percy thought. The apartment was small and there wasn't much to do. If they also went somewhere to eat, see a movie, or just hang out it might not matter. There were four rooms in total: The living room/kitchen, the bathroom, his bedroom, and a spare room that was meant to be an office space. It appeared larger than it was because it was mostly empty, but that was a whole different problem Percy had been dealing with. He hoped they wouldn't mind the apartment. He was starting to like Piper's idea, even if he wasn't excited for them to see his place. He hoped he could see them soon.

"Ok," he said with a smile, "Let's make it happen."

"Yes!" exclaimed Piper, bouncing up a little on her bed and shaking her phone in place, "We can hang out during Halloween too! And get everyone together for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I can't wait, we should hang out first this weekend!"

It was Wednesday, Percy thought, that gave him three days to at least make this place a little more appealing. He racked his head and wondered if moving his piles of laundry into the living room might make the place look more at home. He figured it might at least smell better in his bedroom if he did and said, "Yeah, sure! I can't wait either. It'll be good to see you and Leo again without having to wait for the summer."

Piper's sibling coughed again, this time with a bit of annoyance, and she gave them an annoyed look back, "Sorry Percy, I gotta go. It's curfew."

"Is it already that late?" Percy looked out the window, surprised so much time had already passed. When he had got home it was still evening, but now it was dark outside. He hadn't felt like he'd done much relaxing since he got home – Nico spending the night, opening Leo's gift, talking to Piper – but he was ok with that. He was going to see his friends soon.

"See you later Percy, sleep well. I'll tell Leo about the plan tomorrow. I can't wait to come visit, I'm sure he'll be excited too!"

"Bye Pipes, good night." And with that, Piper hung up.

Percy sighed and cupped his hands over his face. Nico had sat down by Percy, unnoticed by him, but didn't jump when he realized he was there. He only turned towards Nico with a blank look on his face, as if he were guilty of some horrible, unspeakable crime.

"I take it you're a bit worried about them coming over." Nico said after studying Percy's face.

"What makes you say that?" asked Percy.

"Just a feeling, but if I had to guess… it's because you live in an empty box."

"Hey! It's not that empty."

"No offense Percy, this is coming from someone who doesn't live anywhere, but it's kind of troubling seeing you live in these conditions. Like, your bedroom is the only room that's furnished, even then you don't have a dresser and you keep all of your clothes on the floor. Not to mention your fridge is half trash can and half pizza, soda, and raw cookie dough."

Percy gave Nico an irate look.

"And you look pretty miserable too." Nico finished.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah it is."

"I just…" Percy got up and began pacing between the living room and kitchen, "haven't been doing great, ok. I'm trying my best and I know it looks bad, but it's been getting better. I promise. But I'm worried Piper and Leo might think I'm struggling, and I don't want them to worry or beg me to come to camp."

"You are struggling though."

"Thanks Nico, real helpful."

Nico got up and stopped Percy in the middle of the kitchen before he could finish his third lap. He had changed into a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt since his shower. Percy didn't know where the bottoms had come from, but he figured Nico had already been wearing the shirt. Nico put one hand on Percy's shoulder, "Look Percy, if you need help, I might be able to. You let me into your home, it's the least I could do."

"You let yourself in actually."

Nico sighed, "The point is, you let me stay. I can help you get this place looking a little better."

"How are we going to do that?"

Nico walked back into the bathroom and brought his jeans out with him, he reached one of the pockets and produced a hefty wad of bills, "It's not much, but it should be enough for a couch and maybe a TV. We should also get you some proper food. You can't live off of Coke, pizza, and cookie dough alone."

"I buy what I like." Percy shrugged.

"Plus, you should have something for your guests to eat when they're here. We might want to get you some stuff for your kitchen too, like a microwave, and maybe something for that other room. It could be a guest bedroom."

Percy eyed the cash Nico had been holding, he'd placed it on the counter when he started talking about food and began looking through the empty cupboards and drawers. It was around $250. A lot, but not enough for what Nico was planning. He hoped Nico understood that it would buy some of what he was suggesting – definitely a couch, a cheap tv, and more food – but he wasn't sure about anything else. He didn't have that much money either, enough for rent and utilities but even then, Nico might be thinking too ambitiously. He wondered if Nico still had a 30's understanding of monetary value.

Nico stopped rummaging through the kitchen and noticed Percy examining the money, "I can get more by the way."

"Huh?" Percy looked back up at him, he had lost focus for a moment thinking about the cost.

"I can get more money. Some of the dead I talk to still hold on to bills they had in life, that's where I got most of that. Some have debit cards that occasionally still work at ATMs. I can summon a few and get them to give us some. If need be I can ask my dad…" He trailed off, and Percy began to suspect something might have gone wrong between he and his father recently.

Nico snapped back, "I got it Percy, let me help you. It's the least I could do. I can more money."

Percy considered it. He felt bad taking Nico's money, but he seemed sincere enough. It also felt wrong to be using the dead's money, but he guessed they wouldn't mind. After all, it's not like they needed it. Though he didn't want to have to take cash from them, or Nico for that matter. There was only one way he was letting Nico invest his money into the apartment.

"Ok," Percy said, "But if you're going to be putting so much money into the place, I guess that makes us roommates."

Nico froze, "P-Percy, you don't have to-"

"Come on man, you're helping me out so much. You said we could use the spare room as a guest bedroom, crash there when we get everything set up. It's only fair that way."

Nico's face brightened up, not by much he didn't smile too often, but Percy had convinced him, "Alright then it's settled. We'll go out tomorrow and start with food, and then get stuff for the living room."

Percy held out a hand to Nico, and they shook on it. He reached into the fridge and grabbed the last two cans of Coke, and handed one to Nico, "Welcome home, roomie."


	4. Chapter 4: It Gets a Little Hot

**Trigger Warning: The following chapter has instances that suggest, but do not outwardly mention, self-harm.**

**Note: While it may seem unrealistic that teenagers are typing full paragraphs and using proper punctuation through text messages, this is written for the sake of correctness within the format of the story. If it helps to visualize, imagine each period ends one message sent and multiple sentences as numerous messages being sent one after another. Additionally, abbreviations like "idk" are omitted from the writing. Though this in no way means any character avoids using them as any other person would texting.**

Nico turned in for the night first, while Percy studied the ins and outs of his phone for a few minutes before joining Nico on the floor. Though he never had one himself, he knew some basic functions of smart phones. The home button, which Leo had printed the design of a Trident on, came naturally to Percy. Though some of its higher functions, such as closing apps to preserve his phones battery, had yet to be discovered. Texting was no problem at all, especially since they were all communicating in ancient Greek. It was surreal, Percy wondered how the ancient Greek keyboard had come to him so naturally, whereas a normal keyboard left him wanting to smash the Latin letters to bits. He'd never been good at typing, partly because of dyslexia and partly because he never got a proper "feel" for it. Percy assumed this had something to do with his fighting instinct, or ADHD. Strangely, the phone was the first time Percy had felt comfortable composing a message. Maybe it was easier because it was on a phone screen, Percy was just glad to it wasn't that hard for him. However, he still found it hard to focus and would sometimes jump from one app to another and back to the first. Before he forgot, Percy sent a quick message to every single one of his friends. A storm of "Hi," "Hey," and "Hello" was sent to all his contacts – including his mother who he added right away – save for two: Annabeth and Luke.

Percy put his phone back on his nightstand, not expecting any messages right away, most of his friends he hoped would be asleep by now. But it buzzed to life as he pulled his hand away. He picked it back up and saw he had received a text message back from Annabeth.

_"IM SORRY I FELL ASLEEP AND JUST WOKE UP!"_ said her message, _"Hey Seaweed Brain."_

Percy opened the message, reading it with a smile. He hadn't thought much about the time between now and when he had sent his first message until he started sending greetings to everyone else. He was sure Annabeth hadn't been ignoring him, he doubted he could upset her with a single text message "Hello." Until moments afterward he assumed she was busy at Daedalus' laptop, hanging with Luke, or had been examining some of Leo's blueprints (she'd help him design when he was working with large structures), but something about discovering her accidentally dozing off made him think she was cute. Cuter than he had denied thinking she was before.

He stared at the message for around half a minute. While he was thinking about Annabeth and what to write back, suddenly an uppercase _phi_ appeared at the bottom of the screen. It was light grey, appearing to be a shadow against the white background of the messaging app, and rotated before stopping back in its original position and beginning to rotate again. Finally, it transformed into an uppercase _omega_ – as if to say "at last" – and another text from Annabeth appeared.

_"You're up?"_ she said.

Quickly, Percy shot her back a message,_ "Yeah, how'd you know?"_

_ "It shows you when someone's read your messages."_

_"Oh."_

_ "Pfft, sorry I noticed you read my text but hadn't responded. I got kind of worried."_

_ "No, I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I was going to text you back."_

_ "What took so long? I just said hi."_

Percy tried to think of anything that wasn't, "I was thinking about you falling asleep."

_"Couldn't figure out what to say, I was trying to think of what to type but nothing came up."_ It wasn't a lie at all, though Percy had tried to make it seem as if it were his ADHD or his brain had just shut off. Which Annabeth had told Percy, numerous times, he did a lot.

_"I understand. Getting used to the phone?"_

_ "Yeah. I think I got a good handle on it, having never had one. It's really cool though. I don't know how I'm going to thank Leo."_

_ "Me neither. He did more than he had to for any of us."_

_ "He carpet-bombed my room with tissue paper giving me mine."_

_ "I had to disembowel a plush owl. I don't think Mom was too excited to see that."_

_ "That's kinda funny."_

_ "Is not."_

_ "Is too."_

_ ":("_

Their conversation continued, and the two talked about what they'd been up to (Percy hiding any detail that made him seem like he was in a rut), interesting facts about one another (Annabeth wanted an owl tattoo, Percy had never even considered she'd get a tattoo in her life), and Nico becoming Percy's roommate. Inevitably, that lead to Percy divulging he, Piper, and Leo's plans to hang out this weekend and Annabeth promised to come visit sometime soon too. Percy laughed at a little at the conversation and felt elated that he could see Annabeth soon too – and extremely fortunate that Nico would be helping him fix up the place.

Before he had gotten her texts, he could hardly keep his eyes open. But talking with Annabeth woke him up. He had almost no trouble giving his full attention to the conversation. The only struggle was waiting for a response, which didn't take long at all. He wondered if it took longer for her to type a message or for her phone to send it to him. And whether or not he had good service where he was. Or how he was getting service. Then another message would come up and he'd gleefully send her one or two back. Best of all, he felt the conversation was truly that of a couple of friends trying to stay that way. For a good moment, Percy felt a strong, platonic connection to Annabeth.

Eventually, however, his will was tested, _"So, I don't know if you noticed." _She sent, on its own. The typing symbol appeared again, for a little longer than Percy was comfortable with.

He began to worry what Annabeth might send. "Please don't be anything weird," he thought, "nothing that could ruin this moment. Please."

"_I don't know if Leo put his number in your phone or not," _she continued,_ "But I asked Leo if he could make a phone for Luke as well."_

Percy felt his face flush with red. He felt a mix of anger, jealousy, and shock fill him. Anger, caused by the thought of Luke – having become an impulse over the years; Jealousy, hearing that Annabeth had stuck her neck out and personally asked Leo to add Luke's phone to his project list – though he had suspected this; and shock, because Annabeth was actually telling him this. He fought any attempt to appear upset by this, which was incredibly easy when you could erase words before you said them.

"_Oh yeah, I saw." _He replied,_ "I didn't think much of it."_ He lied.

"_Percy, I know you too well. I understand dealing with Luke is hard, it is for me too. But I want to help him feel included, he's like a brother to me."_

Percy tried to understand as best he could, like Annabeth did for him. Even if Luke did really bad stuff – to him, her, himself, the camp, the gods, and nearly the entire world – Annabeth saw some greater redemption for him. He couldn't see it himself but didn't want to argue either. Since Luke came back, sometimes he agreed with Annabeth that Luke deserved better. But other times he doubted his own thoughts on Luke ever fitting in like a normal Half-Blood again. Maybe part of Percy wanted that for Luke though, knowing where he came from. But he couldn't erase the wrongs Luke had done from his mind. He felt a dissonance in it, two separate voices shouting at each other. One saw something greater in Luke, but the other wouldn't rely on a hunch. Percy found himself, yet again, stuck in the middle when he considered what he thought of Luke.

He only replied, _"I get it Annabeth. Luke means so much to you and deserves better, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just hard for some of us to have to include him."_

Annabeth started to type something, but Percy sent another message before she could finish, _"Especially me."_ He admitted.

"_I know." _She said. He thought she would probably sigh with defeat right now if they were talking face to face or start arguing since both would have less control over their words, _"And you've already done so much already. I know it seems small, but both Luke and I appreciate that you're well-behaved when he's around."_

I'm mostly intimidated, Percy thought. He tried not to talk to Luke at all when they were together or even look at him. Luke did the same, but they'd occasionally glance at one another or talk quickly out of necessity. If that made Luke feel better, than Percy felt better for ignoring him.

Annabeth continued, _"But could you do me a favor? It'd really mean a lot to me Percy. More to me than Luke."_

"_You don't want me to talk to him, do you?"_

"_Just a little! At least say hi and talk for a bit. I think he'd feel a little more comfortable if you did."_

"_He would?" _Percy found that hard to believe. Whenever he did see Luke, even if he wasn't paying much attention to him, he could tell he felt just as awkward as Percy did.

"_Yeah. You're… Kind of intimidating, Percy. Luke tries his best around you as much as you do with him."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really. He knows you don't like him that much, not that he blames you. He does feel guilty for what he did you know."_

Percy was still flustered but had calmed down considerably hearing that. He always figured Luke avoided him as much as he did Luke because he despised him. To hear that Luke was actually put off by him, made Percy feel more like a bully. He started to feel a little more sympathetic towards Luke.

"_I'm not that bad, am I?"_

"_It's more like, Luke is scared that everyone wants to throw him out. It didn't help when almost the entire camp actually told him that when he came back, but since things have calmed down, he's gotten better. He knows some people don't like him – some of the gods are still punishing him – but he's made peace with that. But there are people who have forgiven him – some that are his friends – that he thinks hate him too. That's not true, but sometimes I have a hard time convincing him otherwise. He's even scared I might be like that."_

With how much Annabeth and Luke hung out, that last text caught Percy off guard. If Annabeth wasn't working on something, she was with Luke. Why would he doubt her of all people? It made sense to Percy now why Annabeth hung around Luke so much, for his reassurance.

"_What I'm saying is," _Annabeth said, starting to wrap up her request, _"I think if you, the guy who puts him off the most and nearly became his antithesis in the Titan War, were just a little friendly with him he might start to think a little better of himself and trust that he has friends more."_

Percy thought long and hard about what he was going to say. Annabeth had made a lot of good points in defense of Luke, and Percy knew a little more about him that made him feel sorry for the guy. He wasn't sure he was completely won over by Luke, but this favor wasn't for him anyway. Maybe it would be soon though.

"_Alright." _Percy replied, _"I can talk to him."_

"_You will?"_

"_Yeah. If it'll help. I only have to say 'hi' and 'how are you' don't I?"_

The typing symbol came up for a while, and Percy panicked thinking she was taking his joke seriously, but the symbol went away and another message popped up.

"_Thank you so much Percy. Please, please, please take this seriously. At least put effort into talking with him. You don't have to have a long conversation but don't make it look forced."_

"_I won't. I promise."_

"_You're actually the best sometimes, Percy Jackson."_

"_What can I say?"_

Percy knew it'd be difficult for him talking to Luke – actually conversing with Luke – but he was prepared to take it seriously. Not right now though, definitely later. He was starting to feel tired right now.

"_He's asleep right now," _Annabeth said, _"I'm going to bed too. You could send him a greeting right now and respond later. Just make sure to respond to the text if you read it, Seaweed Brain."_

"_I will."_

"_And get some sleep, it's 1AM."_

Percy looked at the clock on his phone. Sure enough, 1:14AM. The passage of time had snuck by him again. He and Annabeth had been talking for nearly two hours. As terrible as he was going to feel in the morning, he was happy to have talked to Annabeth for so long. He was glad to be able to help, and maybe he'd be glad to help Luke too.

"_Good night, Percy."_

"_Night, Annabeth."_

Percy yawned, he had to get some sleep soon. But he figured Annabeth was right about texting now and answering later. It'd look a little weird when Luke saw how early Percy had texted him, but maybe he'd figure it had been a long night for him. Or that he was being asked to. Hopefully not the latter.

Percy thought for a bit about what to text Luke, but finally decided on, _"Long time no see, bro."_ Luke and Percy were definitely not bros, but it was all he could think of. He placed his phone on the nightstand for good this time, crashed next to Nico on the floor without waking him, and fell asleep.

Since moving out Percy had been having far fewer dreams than he had at camp or even when he had been living with his mother and stepfather. The first few nights, he had had terrible dreams about monsters attacking, but eventually he had completely stopped dreaming at all. The fact he had was one of the reasons he wanted to avoid going back to camp, or even back with his family. Tonight however, he wasn't as lucky as he had been for the past few weeks. He felt it as he began to drift off, suspecting tonight he might have one. It was a sixth sense he had started to feel before he went to bed. If he concentrated enough, he could stop himself from falling asleep and avoid a nightmare. The window to stay awake was small, and if he wanted to he'd have to act fast. He'd gotten comfortable with peaceful nights so far and quickly questioned if staying up was worth the trouble. In an instant, Percy decided against staying awake and continued falling into slumber with the hope that the dream wouldn't be so bad. Big mistake.

The rolling hills of Camp Half-Blood were smoldering. Every tree, every shrub, and the strawberries in the field were charring in the flames. Percy stood in front of the Big House and ran inside, looking for Chiron or Mr. D. He found neither. Even Seymour was nowhere to be seen, his place on the wall empty as fire began to engulf it. Percy called out for them as he ran out of the old building, which had begun to tear from itself on its east side. As a section of the roof caved in, Percy dashed towards the cabins to search for other campers.

The heat was intense, it alone may have been enough to suffocate Percy if he wasn't already running at full speed through burning, smoky woods. He could feel it to, outside of his dream he felt a shortness of breath. He wondered if he would die if he pushed himself too hard.

I need to get out of here or I will die, he thought, there isn't anything I can do. This is a dream.

He ignored his best instincts and kept going. As he approached the Omega-shaped line of cabins he collapsed to his knees, where it was safer to take deep breaths. But he could hardly breath as he saw what was before him: the cabins were all gone.

The wooden cabins, most of that had been there before the fire, were ashen piles or extinguishing remains that still had fires dancing on top of them. The marble Zeus and Hera cabins had been crystallized and were but piles now. The golden and silver Apollo and Artemis cabins had melted. Hephaestus' had met a similar fate, but a few mechanical parts inside were still sparking. An explosion come from it, as Greek fire sailed into the air from somewhere inside. The damage had been worsened in an instant, and some of the cabins nearest to Hephaestus' that had died already were lit aflame once again.

Percy's eyes drifted towards the Poseidon cabin – his own. The glorious building crumpled as the last wall gave way. It was like watching a seabed burn to ashes. Burnt coral and the smell of glass hit Percy's nostrils like a sucker punch, his home at camp was gone. Camp was nearly all gone.

Percy avoided looking at the ground, for fear of finding corpses. He hadn't seen anyone else and he was terrified that he knew why. He didn't know what to do or who he could find to help him – if there was even anyone to help. He wondered if staying in this hellscape was really the answer, if there was anyone to be saved, or if there was a premonition or a sign he should search for to prevent this in the future. His dreams before had been such, but this was not like a dream he had before.

I'm being tormented, he thought again, there's no one here. There's no reason to be here. I have to leave.

Blackjack came to his mind. He looked over to the stables and saw the fire hadn't reached them yet. Blackjack was a smart pegasus, he might have left by now. Or maybe he was looking for survivors in camp. If Percy ran towards a clearer part of the camp, he might be seen more easily by Blackjack if he was scanning the area in the skies.

He gathered his strength and stood up, running towards the stables away from the camp. But he heard a voice call out to him as he passed one of the ruined cabins.

"Percy," he heard in a familiar voice, "Help me!"

Percy froze, and turned towards the source of the call. He had almost missed it over the roar of the dying camp, but sure enough there was someone here who needed help. Someone in that cabin was trapped. The roof was somewhat familiar but was fragmented and had collapsed over the rest of the cabin. To which god it was for, Percy was unsure. He had lost track of their order in the destruction. He hastily ran towards the cabin as he saw a hand reach out to him, sure that it only had minutes before it would be crushed under the weight.

Percy pulled one burnt remain after another. His hands singed, burned, and splintered. Achilles' Curse seemed to have disappeared, but Percy trudged on and pulled more of the cabin away. The camper continued to call out to Percy, whom Percy couldn't identify under the rubble. Their hand clung to Percy's leg, trying to pull themselves out. Percy freed another arm as he a chunk of roof off of them and it grasped his leg as well. Percy kept his strength. The camper was strong, and they would knock him over if he didn't stand his ground. Their attempt was desperate, but it might work if Percy pulled a few more pieces off them. The rest of their body was still trapped under support beams and pieces of bunk, but little by little they pulled out from the fiery pile they were underneath.

Percy's eyes watered and he felt his strength escape him. A larger chunk of roof was the last piece to free the camper, but even with all his might and will he couldn't bring himself to lift anymore. The camper continued to pull themselves out but was out of strength as well and their hands let go of Percy's leg. Percy looked down, his vision impaired by the smoke, but saw a tuft of blond hair. A surge of heroism raced through him, and he found enough strength to lift the roof up for a little while longer.

"Run!" Percy screamed, "Get out of there."

His eyes clenched shut with pain, but he knew the camper was still there.

"What are you doing? Get up! I can't hold it for much longer."

A chill ran down Percy's spine as his arms started to buckle. He hoped the camper had only passed out. He opened his eyes, hoping he wouldn't see the lifeless body of one of his friends. Before him, unconscious of the ground, was Luke Castellan.

* * *

Percy jerked awake. He took a deep breath, exasperated. His lungs felt as though they were about to explode. Although it was September and the temperature had begun to drop, he was drenched in sweat. His hands, he checked them, were fine but he felt a pins-and-needles-like pain fade away. The dream had felt so real, as if he had been there. More than he would usually in his dreams anyway.

Percy was no longer at camp. He was back on the floor of his empty living room. Nico wasn't beside him anymore and their pile of blankets had lost its original shape. What had been a rectangular, four-square area was now a mess of tangled polyester and cotton. Percy figured he must have been tossing and turning pretty badly in the night, he hoped he hadn't disturbed Nico.

"Morning." His new roommate called from the kitchen, sipping water out of an empty Coke can.

Percy jumped. For a split second he felt his heart stop, but it slowly began again once he saw it was only Nico.

"Son-" started Percy, he was still short of breath, "Son of Hades, Nico. Don't scare me like that."

"Whoops." Nico didn't sound very sorry about startling Percy, but he didn't look well rested either, "You can use your own bed tonight."

Percy's eyes shifted back to the warzone he had made in the night. Some of the blankets had been drenched in sweat, most of which were wrapped around him. So far, he had proved to be the worst roommate to sleep with.

"…Sorry."

"You're fine," Nico took a long drink from the can, keeping his eyes on Percy, "You scream… really loud." As he said it, Percy noticed his throat felt incredibly hoarse as if he had been straining it all night.

"I screamed a lot?"

"Every so often."

"What'd I say?"

"I couldn't make much out much of it, but it sounded like you were calling out names."

"That… sounds about right." He recalled he had been shouting out Chiron's name in hopes he would find him, along his other friends as he approached the cabins.

"Also, you moved a lot. Tossing and turning, flipping over. You tried pulling at the carpet at one point. I thought you were going to rip it off the floor."

Percy went silent and examined the floor for any damage. If he could lift a burning piece of the Hermes cabin he felt like he should be able tear out a piece of the carpet.

"At one point you grabbed me?"

"What?"

"Yeah, you clung tight and wouldn't let go."

"I-I'm sorry, Nico."

Nico looked up over Percy out the window, staring at the view of Manhattan just before Apollo's sun chariot would crack over the horizon. Even though the place was cheap and out of sight, it still had a spectacular view.

"It was better than the screaming. Don't sweat it Percy, you didn't scare me. I have nightmares too. Albeit, I don't absolutely break down and throw fits in the night, waking the entire building up."

"Oh no." Percy shot up and ran to the counter in a second – a spectacular feat when it was only 5 feet away, "The landlord didn't complain did he?"

"No, no one stopped by. At least they didn't when I was here. When you let me go, I left to get more cash for today's shopping trip."

Percy glanced towards the wall mounted clock. It was 5:48AM, only a few hours after he had fallen asleep. He felt terribly tired and exhausted, ready to go back to sleep.

"When do you wanna go out?"

"Preferably, after I get some more sleep. Confetti or not, I'd rather you take your blankets and go back to your bed. If you're going back to sleep that is."

"Yeah, I probably should."

Last night, Nico had looked like a tired, homeless wreck. Now, he looked tired and aggravated but slightly less homeless. Percy couldn't help feeling sorry for him. Needing to room with a friend he didn't see very often, who had woken him up in the night and was in a situation not that much better than his own. Percy thought he might have lost a roommate.

Nico picked his can of water back up and chugged it. In a few swigs, the drink was gone and Nico wiped his face. Percy turned towards his room and his shoulders slumped. He hoped he could get back to sleep, and that there wouldn't be another nightmare.

"Hold on." Nico stopped Percy before he had entered through his door. He turned, waiting for Nico to say something.

Nico sighed, "What exactly did you dream about last night?" He fiddled with the empty can, "Are you ok?"

Percy told him about the camp in flames, and everyone missing (He hoped) except for Luke. Nico looked around the room a few times as Percy told him about the empty camp, as if he was looking for someone.

"And you're sure no one else was there?" Nico asked.

"As far as I could tell. I didn't look anywhere but the cabins and the big house."

Nico bit his thumb, deep in thought. Percy stared at him, realizing he had taken off his hoodie. He wore a purple shirt with a comical, white skull sneering on it, and his right arm was wrapped halfway up his forearm in bandages. Nico caught him staring.

"This-This isn't anything, Jackson!" He yelled. Nico grasped his arm with his left hand, covering the end of the bandages.

"Nico, I-I didn't mean-I wasn't-"

"I promise you," Nico's voice dropped down much quieter, "It's fine. It's not what it looks like."

"I believe you Nico it's just…"

"I'm telling the truth, let's stop talking about it."

Percy nodded and looked off into the corner of the room, while Nico stared at the counter. He continued pondering over Percy's dream, and took his hand off of his arm and placed it over his chin.

Nico hadn't appeared to be in any pain or had any trouble with his arm before, so Percy guessed it wasn't sprained or badly hurt. It was covering something though. Percy didn't believe that Nico would be so defensive if he was just wearing them as a fashion statement. When he was in high school, he knew a few kids like that. He caught himself staring again and looked back at the corner in the living room. He put the subject to rest in his mind.

"I don't know what to make of it, Percy." Nico said finally, "It just sounds like you had a really bad nightmare."

Percy knew better than that, demigod dreams always meant something. But he wanted to believe Nico was right.

"You don't think Luke started the fire, do you? Or got someone else to." Percy suggested.

"If he did, he did a bad job getting away from it. I seriously doubt he started it. It seemed like he was in danger too."

It was hard to argue, Percy's emerging suspicions died as the flames had when he woke up.

"Let's try to forget about it. We've got a busy day ahead of ourselves. Let's go out around 10. That sound good?"

Percy managed a weak smile, "Sounds good, di Angelo."

"Great." Nico said, making his way back to the least sweaty pile of blankets he could find. He looked like he'd pass out at any moment, "And don't fall asleep if you're gonna scream again."

Percy grabbed a blanket and went back into his room. He was disappointed to see the confetti was still there, but it was probably karma for keeping Nico up. He plopped down on to the mattress, a few piles of confetti that lay at his feet were sent a foot into the air from the impact. He watched as they fell back down on him, and suddenly vanished before his eyes. The room was clean again, as if the mess hadn't been there before.

Percy grabbed his phone off the nightstand and looked at the time: 6:00AM.

"Perfect timing." He said out loud, before closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep. This time, without watching his home burn before his eyes.


End file.
